The Principal
by BlatantBookworm
Summary: The X-Men have gone through a lot. By now they deserve a break - maybe a new principal who doesn't hate mutants with a vengance for one?


**The Principal**

**Okay, this was originally in my story Off Balance. But I plan on doing a fair bit of stories, all involving Principal Clarkson as principal - apart from any set while the series is progressing. And i know how annoying it is to be reading some-one's stories and not understanding who a character is, but then having a long story to find out. So I thought I'd add this in as a one shot.**

**Also, I don't own anything but Clarkson.**

**Oh yeah, and if you want to use him in a story, go ahead - but mention me, okay?**

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><p>Mr - no, <em>principal <em>- Albert Clarkson walked into his new school with a grin.

He had just became promoted from teacher to principal. Of course it was in a completely different school, but he didn't mind. A message had been sent around the schools, asking for a principal for Bayville High.

Principal Clarkson had accepted. He was surprised no-one else had, but it was quickly explained to him about the mutants. They were apparently terrifying trouble makers who could kill with a single glance.

Nevertheless, Clarkson wanted the job. It payed better, and to be honest, he was excited about the mutants. Super-powered children? In all honesty, when he was a boy he'd always dreamed of having super-powers and saving the world. Teaching kids who could wasn't quite the same, but it was a start.

He walked into his new office and placed a picture up on the wall, thinking about the mutants. Honestly, he had read through the newspaper reports and - once he realised what was fact and what was reality - these _x-men _seemed like they were genuine super-heroes.

Those brotherhood kids seemed less like super-heroes, but they had left. Of course, Principal Clarkson planned on sending them a letter inviting them back, and would call a couple of times, but he had a feeling that they wouldn't want to. He wouldn't give up on them completely, but if they wanted to drop out of school, they'd drop out of school.

Yep, going to Bavyille High was going to be excellent.

The only thing that really bothered him was the fact that the last principal had left to run for office. He'd seen his campaigns and they focused mainly on getting rid of mutants. What had he gone through to make him hate them so much?

Mr. Clarkson - _Principal _Clarkson - shrugged to himself. He might come to regret taking this job, but he could always leave again.

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><p>"Hello, sir." A girl knocked on the door, her long red hair flipping down her back. A brown-haired boy wearing red sunglasses stood behind her.<p>

"Come in." Principal Clarkson looked up from placing several things in his desks. Were these two students come to apologize for something?

"Hello. My name is Jean Grey, and this is Scott Summers." The girl said, sitting down at a chair. Scott sat down next to her with a smile.

"What can I do for you? And Mr. Summers, I'd appreciate it if you would take those sunglasses off." Clarkson nodded, looking over the two teenagers.

Scott shook his head. "I don't think you would. I don't mean to be rude, but it would probably be a really good idea for me to keep my glasses _on_."

"Really? And why is that?" Principal Clarkson said, frowning.

"Well, actually," Jean cut in, "that's one of the reasons we came to talk to you. You see, I'm sure you've heard of the mutants in this school."

"Yes…" Clarkson nodded slightly. Who hadn't?

"Well, we're mutants ourselves." Scott said. "We graduated last year, but we came to introduce ourselves and to explain about the others who still go here, and their powers."

"Ah." Things became clearer. "So what, exactly, are your powers?"

Jean looked at his desk. A paperweight, some pens and paperclips floated into the air. "I have telekinesis, and a form of telepathy. But don't worry – I promise you that I will not read your mind unless it happens to be absolutely necessary. And neither will the professor."

"Good to know." Clarkson wasn't sure what to think of these two teenagers. After all thewarnings about mutants, he was surprised about how polite these were.. "And yours?" He looked at Scott.

"My eyes, uh, basically I have laser vision. But it doesn't turn off so I have to wear these glasses all the time to stop myself from hurting someone." Scott said, tapping his glasses. "It's a bit of a pain, to tell you the truth."

"But we're not here to talk about us." Jean shook her head. "We're here about the other students at the Xavier Institute."

"Yes. What about them?" Clarkson smiled slightly.

"Well," Jean glanced at Scott.

"For one thing, sometimes they cause a little bit of damage when they don't mean too." Scott said. "For example, if Sam tries to grab something, he'll sometimes use his powers, which, well, he can fly pretty fast. But if he crashes into something, like a wall, it'll generally break."

"But it's always accidental." Jean added. "Unless, you know, he gets attacked by a giant robot or some other thing that he needs to fight."

"A giant robot… and how often does that happen?" Clarkson blinked.

The two teenagers looked at each other apprehensively. "Well, sometimes the x-men get into fights. For example… The Sentinel robot." Jean said.

"Ah, right. I saw that on television." Clarkson nodded, feeling a surge of panic at the idea that some of his students might get attacked by a giant killer robot. But there was also excitement. How often do you get to teach superheroes?

"Anyway," Scott cut in, "we just thought we'd have a talk about this to make sure… well, to make sure."

"Uh-huh. So, what exactly are the children's powers?" Clarkson said, opening his desk drawers. He blinked. "Well, that's unusual."

"What is it?" Jean asked curiously as Clarkson pulled out the pictures of the students. Not all the students, but these ones had warnings on them, saying things like 'blew up the chemistry lab – watch carefully', 'pyromaniac – keep fire-extinguisher nearby at all times' and 'do not let anywhere near the drivers ed classes'.

"Ah." Jean said. "That was probably left there by Principal Kelly. Principal Kelly was, well, a little prejudiced towards us mutants."

"Define prejudiced." Clarkson frowned.

"On our graduation day his speech went something along the lines of 'Some people may have advantages over you, but that is no reason to believe we cannot overcome them.'" Scott shrugged, a flicker of light rolling over his glasses."

"So, he was biased and these warnings are not necessary?" Clarkson asked, touching the pages.

"No." Jean shook her head. "They aren't true. Sometimes they get a little upset, or can't control their powers, but very rarely does anything serious ever happen. If you just be careful, you shouldn't have to follow many of these rules."

"Except for the one about Kitty and driving." Scott added. "That has nothing to do with her being a mutant, but everything to do with the fact that she's a little… _reckless _… behind the wheel of a moving vehicle."

"I see." Clarkson looked at the photo of the girl with her big brown eyes staring at the camera and a slight smile. "And what are…"

"Kitty has the ability to phase through matter. Basically she can walk through walls. And really, she's a truly sweet, harmless girl when she's not driving. Or cooking." Jean smiled and touched the picture labelled 'pyromaniac'. "This is Amara. She's not a pyro; she just has the ability to control lava. We call her 'magma'. And this boy here (she pointed to the boy who apparently blew up the lab), this is Ray. He can shoot electricity out of his hands."

Scott picked up a photo of a gothic girl. "We might need to mention Rogue here. You see, her power doesn't turn off, and it's a little dangerous. Rogue's power is to absorb memories, and if they're a mutant, powers. But if she touches you, you end up unconscious for a different amount of time depending on how long she touches you. So she has to wear long clothes all the time, it's not a fashion statement."

"This boy here," Jean added, pointing, "is Roberto. Basically he gets his power from the sun, and it's super-strength, flying, etc. And this boy is Bobby, or the Iceman. He can make ice shoot from his hands and make strangely detailed statues."

"And lastly," Scott said, "Kurt." He pointed to a picture of a boy with blue hair. "Kurt can teleport, you know, disappear and reappear at will. I think he also sticks to walls. There's also Jamie but he won't be starting in high-school until next year. Uh, he has the power to multiply himself."

"I see." Clarkson nodded. This was a lot to take in, but still... What was with all the drama that the previous teachers had warned him? Scott and Jean were well mannered, and he believed them when they said that most of the stuff that went on here was an accident. "So basically you mutants are… similar to martial arts black belts or something? Normal children but able to fight better then most of the other children here."

Jean smiled with relief. "Yes, that's a good simile. Martial arts students. Or maybe like kids who are just naturally stronger, or naturally bigger, who accidentally destroy things but it's not their fault."

"Yes. I quite understand."

Slowly the two mutants started to smile broadly. "You do?" Scott grinned. "That's... that's great."

Jean nodded in excitement. "Thank you for your time!" She said, breaking into a huge smile.

"You're welcome?" Principal Clarkson said, bemused, as Jean jumped to her feet. "Thank you so much. But I'm sorry, but we've got to go." She shrugged apologetically.

"Okay then. Where...?"

"Oh, a Danger Room session." Jean shrugged as Scott stood up too. "Thanks!" The boy said as Jean opened the door and left. Scott pulled the door shut behind him.

Principal Clarkson sat stunned for a minute. "Danger Room session?" He wondered.

Then he shrugged and continued setting his stuff up.

When he was finished there was a pile of photographs. For a moment Clarkson was stumped with whether or not to keep the photos as a warning.

Then he picked them up and fed them through his paper shredder.

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><p><strong>So... <strong>

**what did you think?**

**I know it's changed a lot from in Off Balance (which is really good, by the way - read it!) but i had to make it fit by itself. **

**So review peoples, let me know what you thought about it!**


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